Increasing energy costs and environmental concerns make solar power an attractive alternative to traditional carbon-based energy sources. Solar power is commonly harnessed using a solar cell, which is a device that converts the energy of sunlight into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. Solar cells are manufactured using numerous different types of technology, including crystalline silicon devices, thin film devices, and multiple junction devices, to name a few.
Crystalline silicon devices are generally classified into single crystal silicon solar cells, polycrystal silicon solar cells, and amorphous silicon solar cells, depending on the crystallinity and crystal size in the resulting ingot, ribbon, or wafer used during manufacturing. Single crystal (e.g., monocrystalline) silicon solar cells are generally more efficient than polycrystal (e.g., multicrystalline) silicon solar cells and, therefore, are suitable for high-grade solar cells. However, single crystal silicon solar cells are more expensive to produce than polycrystalline silicon solar cells. As such, there is a need in the art for a method for producing single crystal silicon solar cells in a more cost-efficient manner.
Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to overcome the deficiencies and limitations described hereinabove.